http://www.t-g.com/story/1808411.html
E-Verify now a must for larger firms
Wednesday, January 25, 2012

By JOHN I. CARNEY ~ jcarney@t-g.com

Businesses that employ 500 or more people are now required to either use the online E-Verify program to check the citizenship status of newly-hired employees, or else ask for and keep a file copy of verifying documents, ranging from a driver's license to a U.S. birth certificate to a green card.
The law is being phased in over the next year and a half; businesses with 200 to 499 employees will have to comply starting July 1, and businesses with six to 199 employees will have to comply by July 1, 2013.

Tracy a sponsor

State Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville was one of the sponsors of the bill requiring employers to verify citizenship.

E-Verify, an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration, allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly-hired employees by entering their name and a Social Security number.

The system compares the applicant's information to millions of Social Security Administration and Homeland Security records.

Familiar system

Many local employers have already been using the E-Verify program for years.

"We've been utilizing the program for some while now," said Wendy Bruer of HG Staffing, a local staffing service agency. "It's very easy. It only takes a few minutes per employee.

"It takes longer to log into your account than it does to run someone through."

Before E-Verify, said Bruer, some businesses paid to have Social Security checks done. Now, they have access to the free E-Verify program.

Bruer said that, due to the nature of the staffing agency business, she processes more inquiries a week than most normal businesses would.

"If I can do it," she said, "then any employer should be able to."

Two catches

Bruer said she's had only a couple of "non-confirmations" -- cases where the E-Verify system has flagged an employee's citizenship status. The employee must then go to a Social Security office to sort out the matter. The potential employer will be notified once the matter has been resolved.

Bruer said in one case, the non-confirmation came because of a false report that the potential employee was dead. The employee was able to clear things up and get in good standing.

As many in the community have discovered, some Latino cultures used a different convention for last names, using a hyphenated format of both their father's and their mother's family names, and that can sometimes cause confusion or inconsistency when comparing one document to another.

Tyson participation

Tyson Foods in Shelbyville has voluntarily participated in E-Verify since 1998. It is free to employers in all 50 states including Tennessee, where more than 4,000 businesses have voluntarily participated in the system.

The system is 97.4 percent accurate, according to proponents.

Give Your Job Search a Makeover in 2012!
Written on January 15, 2012 by Laura Labovich in Uncategorized.

Be honest. When you woke up on the first morning of 2012, did you have a handwritten list of resolutions ready to go? And, if so, how many of them applied to your job hunt? If yours was absent anything career or job search related, feel free to borrow one (or all) of my Top Six Resolutions for the Motivated Job Seeker in 2012:

1.I will create a strategy for my job search this year (and stop spinning my wheels). This strategy will include the following four items: a job target (making it easy for others to know exactly what job I want), a specific geographic region (and, no, east coast does not cut it), an industry of choice, and the names of 30-40 companies I plan to target. I promise to write these criteria down on paper and share them with my network, which will make it easier for others to help me.

2.I will get on LinkedIn today (and study it like it's my job). I know that there are two kinds of job seekers: those who are serious about their job search and those who are not. And, if I'm not on LinkedIn, whether I like it or not, I'm in the latter category. And, since there are tons of resources out there to learn LinkedIn, I will start by Googling "LinkedIn for Job Seeker," and other related searches, until my profile is 100% complete. Dark ages, move over.
3.I will not spend more than 10% of my job search time responding to posted openings. Statistics show that only 15% of jobs are ever posted, leaving 80% of jobs unadvertised or never posted. With all of my (now) free time, I will network strategically meet people at the right level, in the right companies, at which to hire me, in places like professional associations, alumni networks and via social media.

4.I will look for information, not openings (because I know that people who seek information get a job much faster than those who are looking for jobs). By setting up informal discussions with decision-makers and/ or hiring managers, even if they are not hiring, I will be the "known" candidate when there is an opening. In fact, this is the best time to meet with hiring managers, since they may be hiring soon and, (if I'm doing my job correctly) I'll get a seat at the table!

5.I will get support when I'm discouraged, and help when I need it. Sharing concerns with trusted friends who can offer encouragement, and mentors or career experts who can offer specific advice can only help me enhance my self-confidence, pull me out of a rut, and help propel me forward.

6.I will give before I expect to get. I will promise to look for things I can do each day to help someone out, such as mentoring a student, recommending a colleague or referring a person to a position for which I am not a fit. I will do one thing each day to support the goals of others, because I know that generous job seekers land faster (and make more friends in the process).

To a happy, productive, and successful job search in 2012!

Laura Labovich is a Job Search, Career Coach & seasoned HR Professional with over 15 years of experience in HR at Fortune 100 companies, including Flagship companies such as Walt Disney World and AOL Time Warner.  Click here for original posting.

America's economy was forged by machinists. But today, a quarter of the nation's welders, engineers and steelworkers are getting ready to retire. And as budget-strapped school districts cut shop classes, fewer young people are entering the trade.

The result is a shortage of skilled workers to build and run the machines that run our lives.

"There's a huge demand for machinists," says veteran machinist Louis Quindlin." They're needed both in manufacturing, and the industrial maintenance side, which is repairing equipment, either pumps or valves, for refineries, water companies, waste water companies..."

The list goes on and on, which is why machinist trade schools like the one we visited Laney College in Oakland are booming. Here in the large, noisy classroom, Quindlen and other trade experts teach students how to think with their hands and work safely around heavy machinery.

Once they gain the skills, these students know a good paying job is virtually guaranteed.

"It's not hard work, its precision work," says 25-year old Joseph Henderson, who hopes to have his own machine shop someday. "If you can pay attention to detail, then this might be the move for you."

From refineries to manufacturing plants, companies are hiring-- with starting pay as high as $30.00 an hour.

"A good, top level machinist can actually earn more than a manufacturing engineer these days," says Don Castillo, a manufacturing manager at FM Industries in Fremont, California.

Others looking at their second or third career -- are hoping a job as a skilled laborer carries them through to retirement.

"This is definitely something I can see where I can be challenged for a long time and have a career that will last for a long time," says 28-year old Michah Chong.

Students aren't just learning how to repair and maintain machines, they're designing and manufacturing parts and prototypes that will give them the skills to advance America's manufacturing industry -- and keep the nation competitive."

"If we fill the gap," says Castillo, "we keep jobs here we can compete with the rest of the world and maintain a good level of manufacturing here in the U.S."

A study done by the National Association of Manufacturers concluded the largest impediment to future growth is a skilled workforce. That's why training the next generation of machinists is critical to ensuring America remains a nation of builders.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/15/on-job-hunt-machinists-in-high-demand/?test=latestnews#ixzz1gipqzkYt

Rock Valley College plans to offer high school students a quick path to an engineering or science degree through an accelerated learning partnership with Northern Illinois University, Rockford College and area high schools.

The program is touted as an extension of the community college's Running Start program, which allows high school juniors to take RVC courses so they can simultaneously earn their high school diploma and a two-year associate degree.

The new plan offers a strong academic focus on math and science studies and gives students another incentive to attend either Rockford College or NIU and stay in the Rockford region. The goal is to better prepare students for the local work force by growing professionals locally, said RVC President Jack Becherer.

With endorsements from the business community, the program could attract more students, and students will have no reason to leave the Rockford region, Becherer said.

Direct Link to Rock Valley College's Running Start Program Web Page

Running Start is a program that allows select, qualified students from area high schools to earn both their high school diploma and Associate of Arts degree concurrently by attending Rock Valley College (RVC) full-time during their junior and senior years of high school. Students are able to accomplish this through a formal agreement between the college and each selected school district so that the courses taken for dual credit simultaneously meet the requirements for both a high school diploma and an associate's degree. The Running Start program is administered through the HS CONNECTIONS (HSC) office at RVC, working closely with counselors at the high schools.

Running Start provides an opportunity for students to work in a more challenging educational environment and to excel academically while completing high school and college requirements. While attending RVC, students earn credits toward an associate's degree and can transfer to a four-year institution in the same manner as other community college students. An important element of the Running Start program requires students to be both academically and socially ready for college. Students may also choose to maintain involvement in high school activities such as student government or sports. Running Start provides a tremendous advantage to students who want to shorten the amount of time needed for completion of a college degree. An additional advantage of the program is that students reduce their overall college costs since they do not pay college tuition during their time in the Running Start program. This financial arrangement between the high school and RVC does not extend to textbooks. The cost of textbooks is the responsibility of the students and their families.

Currently, there are four school districts participating in Running Start: Belvidere 100, Byron 226, Harlem 122 and Winnebago 323.

Original Article is HERE.

If you see your password below, STOP!

Do not finish reading this post and immediately go change your password -- before you forget. You will probably make changes in several places since passwords tend to be reused for multiple accounts.

Here are two lists, the first compiled by SplashData:

1. password

2. 123456

3.12345678

4. qwerty

5. abc123

6. monkey

7. 1234567

8. letmein

9. trustno1

10. dragon

11. baseball

12. 111111

13. iloveyou

14. master

15. sunshine

16. ashley

17. bailey

18. passw0rd

19. shadow

20. 123123

21. 654321

22. superman

23. qazwsx

24. michael

25. football

Last year, Imperva looked at 32 million passwords stolen from RockYou, a hacked website, and released its own Top 10 "worst" list:

1. 123456

2. 12345

3. 123456789

4. Password

5. iloveyou

6. princess

7. rockyou

8. 1234567

9. 12345678

10. abc123

If you've gotten this far and don't see any of your passwords, that's good news. But, note that complex passwords combining letters and numbers, such as passw0rd (with the "o" replaced by a zero) are starting to get onto the 2011 list. abc123 is a mixed password that showed up on both lists.

Last year, Imperva provided a list of password best practices, created by NASA to help its users protect their rocket science, they include:

It should contain at least eight characters

It should contain a mix of four different types of characters - upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters such as !@#$%^&*,;" If there is only one letter or special character, it should not be either the first or last character in the password.

It should not be a name, a slang word, or any word in the dictionary. It should not include any part of your name or your e-mail address.

Following that advice, of course, means you'll create a password that will be impossible, unless you try a trick credited to security guru Bruce Schneir: Turn a sentence into a password.

For example, "Now I lay me down to sleep" might become nilmDOWN2s, a 10-character password that won't be found in any dictionary.

Can't remember that password? Schneir says it's OK to write it down and put it in your wallet, or better yet keep a hint in your wallet. Just don't also include a list of the sites and services that password works with. Try to use a different password on every service, but if you can't do that, at least develop a set of passwords that you use at different sites.

Someday, we will use authentication schemes, perhaps biometrics, that don't require so much jumping through hoops to protect our data. But, in the meantime, passwords are all most of us have, so they ought to be strong enough to do the job.

Monroe Chamber Business After 5 and Salute to our Troops as we gather care packages to Support our Troops.

November 17th, 5:30pm to 7:00pm.

AmericInn @ 424 4th Avenue (west side of Monroe, WI).

Come out and enjoy the Monroe Chamber of Commerce Business After 5 sponsored by AmericInn and help us assemble care packages for our troops.  There will be great food, fun and networking. 608.325.7648

Items Needed (please drop off by November 17th @ 5:30pm):  Beef Jerky/Slim Jims, Trail Mix, Hot Chocolate/Apple Cider Mix, Pamen/Cup of Noodles, Pop Top Ravioli, Breakfast Bars, Pop Top Stew, Single Size Gatorade, Gum, Hard Candy, Licorice, Cookies, Little Debbie Snacks, Pop Tarts, Individual size Chips/Pretzels, Band Aids, Q-tips, Magazines (appropriate), Individual Pringle packs, Deodorant, Shampoo, Conditioner, Unscented Wet Wipes (small package), Shaving Cream, Razors, Tylenol/Advil (small bottles), Bibles (small), Devotional Books, Pens, Mechanical Pencils, Ziploc Bags (Snack/Sandwich size), Drink Boxes, Pudding Cups, Small Sports Balls, Nuts/Sunflower seeds, Power Bars, Granola Bars, Easy Mac & Cheese, Pop Top Soups, Individually Wrapped Mints, Single Box Cereals, Packet Tuna/Chicken, Single Size Crystal Light Packets, Single Size Coffee/Tea Packets, Fruit Snacks/Fruit Cups, Instant Oatmeal Packets, Microwave Popcorn, Chocolate Candy, Individual Kleenex Packs, Notepads, Envelopes, Cards, Small Hand Sanitizer, Foot Powder, Cough Drops, Fingernail Clippers, Small Paint Brushes, Playing Cards/Dice.

Click for Original Article

WASHINGTON - In the age of instant tweets and impulsive Facebook posts, some companies are still trying to figure out how they can limit what their employees say about work online without running afoul of the law.

Confusion about what workers can or can't post has led to a surge of more than 100 complaints at the National Labor Relations Board -- most within the past year -- and created uncertainty for businesses about how far their social media policies can go.

"Employers are struggling to figure out what the right policies are and what they should do when these cases arise," said Michael Eastman, labor law policy director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In one case, a Chicago-area car salesman was fired after going on Facebook to complain that his BMW dealership served overcooked hot dogs, stale buns and other cheap food instead of nicer fare at an event to roll out a posh new car model.

The NLRB's enforcement office found the comments were legally protected because the salesman was expressing concerns about the terms and conditions of his job, frustrations he had earlier shared in person with other employees.

But the board's attorneys reached the opposite conclusion in the case of a Wal-Mart employee who went on Facebook to complain about management "tyranny" and used an off-color Spanish word to refer to a female assistant manager. The worker was suspended for one day and disqualified from seeking promotion for a year.

The board said the postings were "an individual gripe" rather than an effort to discuss work conditions with co-workers and declined to take action against the retailer.

Those cases are among 14 investigations the board's acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, discussed in a lengthy report last month on the rise in social media cases. Solomon says federal law permits employees to talk with co-workers about their jobs and working conditions without reprisal -- whether that conversation takes place around the water cooler or on Facebook or Twitter.

"Most of the social media policies that we've been presented are very, very overbroad," Solomon said in an interview. "They say you can't disparage or criticize the company in any way on social media, and that is not true under the law."

The number of cases spiked last year after the board sided with a Connecticut woman fired from an ambulance company after she went on Facebook to criticize her boss. That case settled earlier this year, with the company agreeing to change its blogging and Internet policy that had banned workers from discussing the company over the Internet.

The National Labor Relations Act protects both union and nonunion workers when they engage in "protected concerted activity" -- coming together to discuss working conditions. But when online comments might be seen by hundreds or thousands of eyeballs, companies are concerned about the effect of disparaging remarks.

Doreen Davis, a management-side labor lawyer based in Philadelphia, said many of her corporate clients are often "surprised and upset" when they learn they can't simply terminate employees for talking about work online.

"All of us on the management side are being inundated with calls and inquiries from clients about this," Davis said. "A lot of companies want their social media policies reviewed or they want to establish one for the first time."

But the NLRB's Solomon also warns workers that not everything they write on Facebook or Twitter will be permissible under the law just because it discusses their job.

"A lot of Facebook, by its very nature, starts out as mere griping," Solomon said. "We need some evidence either before, during or after that you are looking to your fellow employees to engage in some sort of group action."

In one case, an employee at an Indiana emergency transportation and fire protection company was fired after writing on the Facebook wall of her U.S. senator, Republican Dick Lugar, to complain that her company skimped on wages and that its cheap service compromised the quality of care.

The NLRB's enforcement office declined to take up her case, saying that the employee didn't discuss her complaints with other workers or show any attempt to take employee complaints to management. She may have been trying to make a public official aware of problems with emergency medical services in Indiana, but board attorneys said that wasn't enough to protect her under the law.

While there are more than 100 cases pending before the board, only one has actually led to a formal ruling. Earlier this month, an administrative law judge at the agency found that a Buffalo, N.Y., nonprofit group illegally fired five workers after they posted Facebook comments complaining about workload and staffing issues.

The judge ordered the group, Hispanics United of Buffalo, to reinstate the five employees and award them back pay.

The Chamber of Commerce's Eastman said it's too early to criticize how the board is interpreting the law, but he wants to see what happens in closer cases where an employee goes "over the top" with criticism of a supervisor of employer.

"Where will the board draw the line between concerted activity and an employer's legitimate non-disparagement policy?" Eastman said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/26/companies-look-to-improve-facebook-policies-amid-surge-complaints/#ixzz1Z544g0o0

Click Here for the Original Workforce Management Article.September 7, 2011

The National Labor Relations Board said Sept. 7 that an NLRB judge has ruled a Buffalo, N.Y., nonprofit unlawfully discharged five employees after they posted comments on Facebook about their working conditions.

According to the Sept. 2 ruling, on Oct. 9, 2010-a Saturday and nonworking day for employees of Hispanics United of Buffalo-Mariana Cole-Rivera posted a message on her Facebook page from her personal computer that said, "Lydia Cruz, a coworker feels that we don't help our clients at HUB (sic) I about had it! My fellow coworkers how do u feel?"

Several co-workers responded with comments expressing frustration with their job.

Lydia Cruz-Moore, who was mentioned in the message, complained to HUB's executive director, Lourdes Iglesias, about the posts. "Her text messages to Iglesias suggest that she was trying to get Iglesias to terminate or at least discipline the employees who posted the comments on Facebook," said the ruling..

On Oct. 12, 2010, Iglesias met individually with five employees who had made the Facebook posts and fired each of them. "She told them that the posts constituted bullying and harassment and violated HUB's policy on harassment," according to the ruling by Administrative Law Judge Arthur J. Amchan.

Iglesias also told the workers that Cruz-Moore "had suffered a heart attack as a result of their harassment," although "it is not established in this record" either that she had a heart attack or that there was any connection between her health and the Facebook posts.

Amchan ruled the employees' Facebook discussion was protected concerted activity within the meaning of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act

"Employees have a protected right to discuss matters affecting their employment amongst themselves. Explicit or implicit criticism by a co-worker of the manner in which they are performing their jobs" is a protected activity, said the ruling.

"There is nothing in this record that establishes that any" of the fired workers harassed Cruz-Moore, according to the ruling.

The ruling orders the five terminated employees-Cole-Rivera, Carlos Oritz, Ludimar Rodriguez, Damicela Rodriguez and Yaritza Campos-to be reinstated, that they be "made whole" for any loss of earnings and that any reference to their discharges be removed from their files, removing any reference to their discharges from their files, among other steps.

In May, the NLRB ruled an Arizona newspaper was justified in firing a reporter over the content of messages he was posting on Twitter.

Filed by Judy Greenwald of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

Stay informed and connected. Get human resources news and HR features via Workforce Management's Twitter feed or RSS feeds for mobile devices and news readers.

Employee Recognition on a Budget (click here to read original article)

September 8, 2010 By focushr 

To Listen click here: [audio http://focushr.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/employee-recognition-on-a-budget.mp3]

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of our work lives, we forget to step back and thank those around us. After all, who doesn't like a pat on the back or recognition for a job well done? More than likely you have employees who would be over the moon for being recognized for their hard work and contribution to the company.

You would love to show them the appreciation but you are limited by a budget. That is a reality we are all facing however it doesn't mean you shouldn't tell them how you have noticed their efforts.

Showing your employees appreciation goes a long way in boosting morale, showing gratitude and possibly just be fun. Doing so does not have to break the bank. Simple gestures go a long way. Here are a few examples that can get your creative appreciation juices going.

If you are want to recognize an individual:
A hand written thank you note (this is much more personal than an email or e-card)
Gift card for their favorite coffee, lunch place
Public recognition in front of other employees
Paid day off
Tickets to their favorite sporting event
A basket/bag of their favorite goodies
Do they have kids (or are kids at heart) - how about tickets to the amusement park

If you want to recognize a group of people:
Host a BBQ with you as Chief Griller
Allow them to leave early on Friday
Pizza Lunch
Bagel Breakfast
Ice Cream Break (ok, almost any kind of food)
An outing to a local forest preserve to canoe, picnic (brown bag it), see what's in your area
A trip to the Zoo (some cities have free admission)

Keep in mind - it's not about the cost. It's about acknowledging their contribution to you and the company. Have fun with it! Be spontaneous!

Click to access Workforce Management's website . 

This information was taken from the August 2011 issue of Workforce Management Magazine.

Here are five of the best practices for Diversity Training based on research and companies' experiences.

• Communicate an individual business case.  During the past decade, developing a business case for diversity has become a standard practice within companies.  However, organizations also should communicate what Villanova University management professor Quinetta Roberson calls an individual business case.  "People want to know, 'What's in it for me?'" says Roberson, who studies strategic diversity management.  "Is this going to increase my skill set where I'm more likely to be identified as a high-potential or future leader?  They need to be given some kind of motivation to learn."  That way, they're more engaged when they attend training.
• Use experiential training focused on behaviors.  "Generic and theoretical learning doesn't have the same stickiness as experiential learning," says Michael Hyter, president of diversity consultant Global Novations.  Leading-edge practices incorporate experiential learning that develops skills rather than simulates discrimination.  "We don't teach people how to manage black people," Hyter says.  "We teach people how to teach people who are different than them."
• Adopt clean metrics.  Determine the goals of diversity training and evaluate its effectiveness, says Shilpa Pherwani, a managing partner with diversity consultant Ibis Consulting Group.   Pherwani's firm tracks effectiveness by creating action plans for participants, tying the actions to organizational competencies.  Steps may include setting specific recruiting and hiring goals for people of color and providing equitable opportunities to members of underrepresented groups.
• Encouarge employees to practice what they learned.  Managers need to provide opportunities for subordinates to apply their diversity training, Roberson says.  "We saw examples where employees would go back to their jobs excited about what they learned, but their managers would say, 'I don't care about all that diversity stuff.  You've been gone for a day or two.  I need you to do X, Y, and Z.'"  But when managers share the newly trained subordinate's enthusiasm, they're reinforcing the message that the company values diversity and inclusion programs.
• Don't expect training to be a panacea.  "Diversity training just in and of itself doesn't change the culture," Pherwani says.  It should be part of a comprehensive strategy that includes recruitment, mentoring and talent management.  The diversity training helps explain the business rationale and provide skills to engage in difficult diversity conversations.  Combining that training with a systemic approach provides a road map to organizations that want to build an inclusive culture, she says.